“What we found was no real surprise,” said Samphier. “People had a genuine love and affection for Holden, but they felt it was a brand for somebody else, not for them. Younger people in particular told us ‘it’s a brand for my dad’. It validated what we’d thought all along.”

“Our researchers told us they had never seen such a consistent response from such a broad range of people.”

Thus far, the new Holden branding is showing signs of life. Holden NZ reports only one percent of sales for the old Barina Spark were to consumers under the age of 30. Now, that figure has risen to 30 percent.